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Enuresis is urinary incontinence. Nocturnal enuresis, characterized by involuntary urination during sleep, is a very common problem among children, but can also occur in adults. It often affects men of all ages. This problem is found in 1% of the adult population of the world. Approximately 1 in 200 people periodically lose control of urination during a night’s rest and urinate in their sleep. In older age, enuresis in men is observed less frequently than in women.
Daytime enuresis is less common than nocturnal enuresis. It can occur after a person has suffered a serious psychological trauma, which negatively affected the work of the nervous system.
Enuresis in adult men is treated by specialists such as urologists, endocrinologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, and physiotherapists. There are more than 300 methods of dealing with enuresis, among them there are very exotic methods of therapeutic effects – for example, acupuncture, hypnosis, animal therapy, etc.
The problem of urinary incontinence has been known to people since ancient times, and the doctors of Ancient Egypt were still involved in its solution. However, even modern medicine is not able to guarantee that the patient will be able to get rid of enuresis by 100%.
Causes of enuresis in adult men
A man can urinate in a dream throughout his life (from childhood), or this problem occurs in a person with age.
The causes of enuresis in adults can be identified as follows:
Pathologies of the development of the system responsible for the excretion of urine, which are congenital in nature. Incontinence can be caused by a small size of the bladder, the inelasticity of its walls, or their excessive thickness.
Hormonal disorders in the body. Sometimes, under the influence of hormones, the volume of urine produced increases, and those hormones that are responsible for the functioning of the kidneys are not enough. As a result, the kidneys produce a lot of urine, which the bladder cannot hold.
Tumor processes can interfere with the normal conduction of the signal transmitted through the nervous system from the bladder to the cerebral cortex.
old age. The older a person becomes, the weaker will be the connection between nerve cells, which are lined up in a long chain. The impulse from the bladder to the cerebral cortex is transmitted less and less intensely with age, which can lead to urinary incontinence.
Weak sphincter of the bladder. The sphincter is a circular muscle that, at the right time, contracts and blocks the lumen of the bladder. This allows urine to accumulate in the organ cavity. To empty the bladder, a person relaxes the sphincter at will. With age, this muscle becomes progressively weaker. At night, the bladder overflows and urine flows out.
How to treat enuresis in adult men?
Treatment of enuresis in adult men involves an integrated approach. In addition to taking medications, psychotherapeutic measures and competent organization of the daily routine are necessary.
Daily routine and diet for enuresis
In order to reduce the likelihood of involuntary urination at night, it is necessary to stop drinking excessive amounts of fluid in the afternoon. At the same time, you should drink the prescribed daily norm of water, but this should be done in the morning and afternoon hours.
It is important to exclude all foods that produce a diuretic effect. First of all, this applies to beer, coffee, tea, fruit drink with cranberries. Some herbal teas also have a diuretic effect, such as decoctions of birch buds or corn stigmas. Watermelon and strawberries can also be called “dangerous” products in this regard.
It is useful to adhere to the dietary scheme according to N. I. Krasnogorsky.
The amount of liquid drunk in the afternoon should be reduced by 2-3 times.
4 hours before a night’s rest, the use of liquids must be completely abandoned.
Before going to bed, you need to eat a piece of salted bread or a sandwich with salted fish. You can drink such a dish with half a glass of water, but no more. Salt will retain fluid in the body and urine will not accumulate in the bladder.
For sleep, you need to choose a mattress with increased rigidity. This will keep the spinal column in the correct position from an anatomical point of view. In addition, the nerve fibers will not be compressed, which means that the signal from the bladder to the brain will pass better. If a person sleeps on a hard surface, his sleep becomes more sensitive. This will allow you to wake up at the right time.
You can put a pillow under your feet. This simple exercise makes it possible to reduce pressure on the sphincter of the bladder. As a result, a person will be protected from uncontrolled urination.
You can set an alarm clock that will go off 2-3 hours after falling asleep. It is necessary to change the time of awakening 2-3 times a week. This will allow you not to accustom the body to wake up at the same hour in the middle of the night.
Stressful situations should be avoided whenever possible. The more evenly the nervous system works, the easier it is for a person to exercise control over his body.
Treatment of enuresis with psychotherapeutic methods
The most common treatment for enuresis is hypnosis. With the help of a special technique, a person is told that he should wake up when his bladder is full. As a result, a reflex should be developed in the brain, which will make it possible to completely get rid of nighttime urination.
You can encourage yourself if you managed to wake up on time at night. As a rule, such small rewards are quite effective in increasing motivation.
You can also try to master self-hypnosis techniques. To do this, you need to lie down in bed and relax. When all the muscles are in a state of complete rest, you should say the following phrase aloud: “I am in complete control of myself. I control my bladder. When it is full, I will feel it and wake up.” When a person convinces himself on his own, he gains confidence in his own abilities. As a result, it will be much easier to deal with the problem of enuresis.
Sometimes it happens that a man has a certain mindset with a predominance of logical thinking. This prevents him from being suggested. Then you can try to contact a psychotherapist who owns the method of rational psychotherapy. The specialist will convince the person that he is able to cope with the problem he has on his own.
Therapeutic exercise in the treatment of enuresis
You can perform certain exercises that will be aimed at strengthening the sphincter muscle. In parallel, the muscles of the pelvic floor will be tightened. Together, this will allow for better control over the process of urination.
To train the sphincter, you need to try to stop the stream of urine during urination with an effort of will. Muscles should be tensed and loosened several times. Over time, they will get stronger and become stronger. When you can understand which muscles are involved in the process of emptying the bladder, you can perform such exercises while lying in bed.
Physiotherapy against enuresis
Physiotherapy, which is designed to cope with the existing problem, is absolutely safe and painless. They practically do not give side effects. There are many devices for treating urinary incontinence. Their impact is based on the passage of electric current (the discharge will be very weak) through the body. This contributes to the improvement of the nervous and muscular regulation.
To get rid of enuresis, you can try the following procedures:
Electrosleep. The technique is designed to normalize the state of the nervous system.
Darsonval on the area of the bladder. This effect will strengthen the sphincter.
Electrophoresis. This procedure makes it possible to improve the conduction of nerve impulses.
Magnetotherapy. Due to the relaxation of the wall of the bladder, the desire to empty it will occur less frequently.
It is possible that reflexology will be crowned with success. It may include mud therapy, paraffin therapy, application of ozocerite to the bladder area. It is possible to take nitrogen, pearl, coniferous and salt baths, the impact of a circular shower.
Alternative methods of treating enuresis include acupuncture, art therapy, animal therapy. All of them are aimed at stabilizing the work of the nervous system, which can positively affect the ability to control the process of urination.
Medication
Taking medications sometimes helps to get rid of enuresis. However, in order to know which drugs to take, it is necessary to find out the cause of urinary incontinence. This can only be done in the doctor’s office.
Other methods
In addition, the following areas in the treatment of enuresis can be distinguished:
Effective treatment of enuresis with a special alarm clock
The method of treating enuresis with a conventional alarm clock
Special exercises for enuresis
Popular drugs for enuresis
Recommendations for the treatment of enuresis in men
To get rid of the existing problem and prevent its reappearance, you must follow the following recommendations:
Try to avoid stressful situations as much as possible.
Maintain mental balance.
Strengthen your pelvic floor muscles. Kegel exercises, which are aimed at training the muscles of the perineum in men, can help. Perform them during the process of emptying the bladder, squeezing the muscles for 5 seconds and trying to stop the flow of urine. The muscles are then relaxed. During one urination, you should try to do at least 3-4 approaches. The number of interruptions should be gradually increased.
If the doctor has prescribed medication, then you must follow his recommendations.
Be sure to try to adhere to the regime of the day: limit fluid intake in the evening, take walks in the fresh air, eat right.
If you implement an integrated approach to the treatment of enuresis in adult men, then you can get rid of it as soon as possible.